Peace Talks
by Passivity
Summary: They want nothing more than to make peace with each other in their own way. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: _**_Something that I promised a long time ago but never got to finish. It was supposed to be a oneshot. It's finally done but I decided to cut it into several pieces just for the hell of it._

I like ShinnCaga, just not in the shippy, romantic way that I do with Asucaga. 

_I will post a chapter at least once every week._

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**_Peace Talks_**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

It wasn't that he was surprised.

He just didn't expect to find her there.

It was nearing the anniversary of the end of the second war and he, along with Lunamaria and Meyrin, decided to pay their respects to the fallen by visiting the many memorials erected in their memory. The first on their list just happened to be stationed on the island of Onogoro in ORB and, honestly, Shinn thought that he'd chosen the worst time possible for an impromptu sightseeing.

He'd left on an earlier time than he should have. He left while Lunamaria and Meyrin were asleep, left the hotel without so much as a note or a text so as to avoid any possible witnesses to his cold lonesome, so that they wouldn't badger and inanely prod at him with questions regarding the happy child that he once resembled. Simply put, he just wanted to be alone and have some time to reminisce. To remember his family, his sister and what had happened to them right there, in ORB. To remember the war that took them away from him and the political hands that he once blamed and the machines that he once rued to no end. He just wanted to make peace with it all, possibly come to the conclusion that he was also at fault, that none of the things he'd said to **her** could be justified by the years of hate and anger that he's accumulated because of that incident. He wanted to find this place, remember when the innocent child inside him had died, remember his reasons, remember why he'd said what he'd said and did what he's done, what he's seen and what he's heard. But most of all…

He wanted to remember peace on his own.

And Shinn felt that right here was a good place to start and that now was the time to do it.

But he could not do so, not now.

Not when she was here, in front of that small cenotaph precariously perched on slowly crumbling soil atop the crashing waves.

"What are you doing here, Athha?"

~oo~

~o~

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_**Written-Sin:** By the way. Each chapter is not shorter than 400 words and won't be longer than 800..._


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:** Part 2. _

_No, I'm not scheduling the updates. It'll be every week until I post the final part. That's it. No exact day. Nada. To hell with anyone who thinks I should update this on an exact day. I've got classes on every day of every f*cking week . I'm not going to promise something that I can't do._

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**_Peace Talks_**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

"What are you doing here, Athha?" It was a stupid question, he knew.

She was ORB's head of state, the head honcho a world power that helped stop two wars, the most influential bureaucrat on Earth and this... This sorry infertile rock he was standing on was **her** country so of course she would be here.

Out here.

Yes, she obviously went out, took a long drive away from her estate, unprotected, just to take a short Monday morning stroll out by the cliffs

…

Not

To ask why she was out here unprotected would imply something akin to concern on his part. But that was not the case-

"Hey!"

…

Again, she gave him no response. It was like she wasn't even aware of his presence, like she was lost in her own little world, despite the fact that he was just two and a half meters away from where she was standing…

It infuriated Shinn all the more.

Not because his mind ran with the idea that the blonde Chief Representative was ignoring him…

But because he wondered just how stupid could she really be to be out here, in the open, barely even years after the conclusion of the war, without so much as one measly, possibly trained, escort beside her. Even Athrun Zala, who was almost always seen following her around like a smitten little pup these days, was nowhere to be seen or heard.

This was stupidity at its finest. Oh hell, it most certainly is. And for Shinn, it was like a huge blow to his sanity as it puzzled him how such a high profile woman, both loved and hated by millions, such as Cagalli Yula Athha could still be alive in all her carelessness. She was practically smothering herself with it.

"Athha." He called, taking two steps, three, forward until he was close enough to grab her by her elbow and jerk her to look towards him. "Are you really that deaf thanks to being a politician, or are you just ignoring me on purpose?"

His seething red eyes contrasted hers by only that much even back when she was still aboard the Minerva, but never has he seen her look so shock without a mask to hide behind.

And hazed, muddled by thoughts prior to his arrival, like she'd just woken up from something so surreal. Her stuttered response made it all the more evident to him that she really hadn't been aware of anything, or anyone, around her before he'd grabbed at her.

The way she sounded confused (even whimpering of all things) as she slowly processed his presence made Shinn want to hit her. The expression in her face which was simply beyond the description of shock tempted him all the more. Right now, she didn't look like a heartless politician, not some greedy, stuck-up, megalomaniac whose ideal mattered more than the people that should be upholding them like he'd envisioned long ago in his youth. Not some cold blooded murderer that didn't care for the fact that his family was caught in the crossfire of a war that they never even knew could enter their lives.

He shoved Cagalli back the moment that that morbid little theater in his mind began playing those memories back like a torturous rerun. He snorts and wipes his mind clean of them, taking pride instead in the little stumble that the blonde woman rights herself from because of his hard shove.

The glare she throws his way only makes him wish to do it again.

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin:** Review please._


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:** Part 3._

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**_Peace Talks_**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

Shinn wanted nothing more than to give her a reason to hate him back just so that he could consider things _"even"_ between them so that he wouldn't have to deal with the inevitable that was a reconciliation that he should be the one to initiate.

Because he will never come to accept that he was the one mostly at fault.

Because he hates her and can't even begin to accept that what he said back then was wrong.

He'd much rather hurt her than succumb to losing what he had left of his beaten pride.

"Idiot. You're just another stupid politician."

He tries with his words because, though he may not be able to brandish a gun in front of her, he knows that his words can hurt her just as much as any bullet that he can fire at her.

He knows, because he's seen it before back in the Minerva.

"What?"

His entire body shook with rage. "You heard me. You're standing here as if you're not a politician that someone wants dead. You're either stupid or just plain reckless. So, which is it?"

She was glaring again, but the fire in her eyes were quickly doused as they were lit as if she'd come to a realization of some sort. She turns away from him, her eyes being pulled back towards the crashing waves of the turbulent sea beyond that small cenotaph. Shinn, never did like being ignored and so he wondered just what it was out there that she found so interesting compared to the him who was standing behind her like the little ball of hate that he was. There was nothing there but an open expanse of saltwater in a once anarchic sea. Perhaps it was the remains of an old battle ship in the distance that was slowly deteriorating thanks to the constant push and pull of the tides, or was it the beautiful spectra of colors that painted the morning sky that drew her interest, or perhaps it was just the need to pretend that him and his anger issues weren't there reprimanding and accusing her of things that he'd be very happy about.

"Goddamit, Athha-!"

"Did you come here for a reason that's more important than the respect you should be giving to the bodiless dead? Because if not, then I fail to see the reason why you're pestering me when I've giving you the chance to pretend as if I don't exist…"

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin:** Almost forgot about this._


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N**: Part 4_

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**_Peace Talks_**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

Only then does his childish hate subside to make way for confusion for her voice neither stutters nor rise. But he hears, he hears because he is a coordinator, the strange brokenness in her voice that clawed at his chest like the claws of an ephemeral beast fighting for its last breath. Was that guilt? Or was it something else entirely?

Pity perhaps?

Whatever it was or had been it ebbed away at his anger almost immediately. For some strange reason, Shinn did not, at that moment in time, feel the need to torment her any further than he'd already tried to. There was a feeling, as if something would break and ultimately come to its end if he were to push the insults further.

He actually felt like stopping his verbal assault… Out of fear?

No… No, no, he's braved countless, life ending battles before, braved the fears, the trauma and the lies that made him into what he is and what he used to be. The ire and probably even the tears of the woman whom he hates is nothing compared to all those, so he comes closer, just enough to stand beside her in front of that small memorial.

There is but a second that he sees her flinch before everything rights itself again. The seagulls over yonder continued to fly and sing songs to the sky as the waves crashed harder against the cliff's side and the resulting burst of water threatened to reach the place where they stood in a silence that others would deem imperceptible to the two of them. But as everything natural that surrounded the two seemed to flow together with practiced ease, Shinn's breathing was strained, and Cagalli shoulders were stiff and tense. Shinn was not without shame as he stood beside her that one cold morning. Yes, he hated her enough to try and cut her down with words alone. But, at that moment, something gnawed and thrashed in his stomach telling him that it may be better to just sop with his childish nonsense lest he wanted things to go from hilariously and painfully awkward, to something beyond the physical brutality of normal and personal conflict.

He's been told of what she was capable of and just how repressed she is.

Maybe that's why his gut was telling him to back down.

It is merely by his sheer impulsive and rude mannerism that he breaks the purposeless quiescence between them in a final attempt to reassert to himself that he was not the awkward one in this conversation… If it can even be called that…

"Is that your way of telling me **fuck off**?"

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin:** I was busy and forgot to put this up. So this week, it's a double update._


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N**: Part 5_

_Here's the second update for this week._

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**_Peace Talks _**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

"Is that your way of telling me fuck off?"

He smiles when she does nothing but narrow her eyes. With his sight staring straight ahead, he baits her once more. "What, politics in your blood forbids you to say something so unbecoming of Chief Representative even though there's only the two of us here?"

But again, Cagalli is silent and she does nothing but roam her eyes across the elaborate engravings of the grey, upright stone.

"I'll take that as a yes…"

They are thrust into an awkward silence once more and he pitifully scours the deep recesses of his mind to find a subject that they could argue about.

When he finds none, his eyes find solace in the view of the horizon and everything that surrounded it. Compared to the last time he and the Hawke sisters were there, everything was green and lush. As if the remnants of the battle that took place near it were never there. The cement looked as if it had been laid out and molded just days before, giving the area that clean, untouched image that felt so inviting and solemn. The waves crashed against rocks without any unnatural barriers and the air didn't smell of burnt trees or corroding metals. The wind blows and lightly grazes whatever exposed path of skin there was on the two of them. Shinn could feel the light caresses that swept his face. Light as that breeze was, it was still enough to tousle his jet black hair to the point that it irritated whatever skin on his face it managed to get its tendrils on, much to his chagrin. "Damn it."

The struggle to keep them at bay proved pointless as Shinn found out rather quickly. Taming his rebellious hair was so low a priority on his list of things that mattered that, even that morning after jumping out of bed, he never even bothered to pick up a comb after he'd had it blow-dried. The sight of him trying to hold his uncooperative hair down must have looked humorous and stupid that it was enough to disturb the noiselessness.

Cagalli's shoulders were rising and falling rapidly and it is only by the faint chain of repressed giggles that Shinn realizes what she was doing. She was laughing at him, that hand trying to cover her mouth and the way that her other arm was wrapped around her abdomen was enough to prove that to him.

He stammers in embarrassment that results in his voice cracking at such an inopportune time making Cagalli laugh a little harder than he deemed necessary.

"Stop laughing damn you!"

He hates admitting that his angers had now been replaced by embarrassment and that her laughter continued to kill whatever sparks were left.

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin**: Hopefully now I won't be too busy to forget about this again._

_Review please._


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: And Cagalli finally speaks again.

They'll officially start making peace with each other in the chapters to come.

This is just the calm before the storm. Because I'm sure that everyone who actually watched GSD can't trust Shinn to be civil for too long.

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_Peace Talks_

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

When everything finally calms and settles, Shinn notices an expression that he's never quite seen on her before. The blonde Representative had gone back to looking at the small memorial and not minding him, yes. But that look she was sporting was with slightly warmer, her eyes held an affectionate glint and a gentle smile that looked familiar but at the same time not, graced her features. He remembers a white uniform that clung happily upon broad shoulders, purple eyes, brown hair and that ever encouraging smile that nullified the usually tense atmosphere caused by Commander Joule in HQ back in the PLANTs. Remembers the man beside their new Chairwoman who, despite his experiences and skill, didn't look quite as scarred as one would expect an ace pilot and recently promoted commander would be.

Shinn saw that man in that smile. Kira Yamato who was the very personification of everything that he thought he should hate… But he couldn't hate that smile… For that smile was calm, kind and understanding…

Just like the man behind it.

"_We're not the only ones who hurt, Shinn. Remember that."_ He was told during a very heartfelt argument about the bitter subject of repentance and self-condemnation in the recently repaired harbor of Armory One. The conversation came complete with a long winded and lukewarm banter with both of them solemnly staring out into space right after and whatnot.

He sighs and decides to do something that made him question his own sanity.

He extended a hand to her. "Come on."

…

And she accepted it without question. Almost.

…

She agrees to at least let him escort her to brunch after their little meeting by the rocks. Not that Shinn gave her much of a choice in the matter.

"_Shut up! If anything happened to you, I could find myself in trouble and God knows what Admiral Zala would do to me!"_

"_Why do I need to join you for brunch though and since when were you so formal with Athrun?"_

"_Because I'm hungry! And how 'bout you? Since when'd the two of you kiss and make up?"_

_"Right... T__ouché_..."

That was pretty much how their arrangement went right before she stopped and dragged him away from his bike and towards a lovely black sports car that had been hidden underneath the shadows of a small grove of trees not too far from where they previously stood...

He gawked at it.

"It was a gift…" Shinn was just about to open his mouth to say something but she manages to glare him into silence. "From Athrun." Was all Cagalli told him when he almost dared to call her a spoiled politician. But still…

You could really trust Zala to have great tastes in vehicles.

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin:** Review please._


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:**_ _There will be a second update for this week since I missed the last one... I was busy... I'll post it up later... Or maybe tomorrow..._

_Also, if anyone's wondering why Athrun's name is mentioned quite often, its' because I am a huge AsuCaga fan... And because he and Cagalli spent lots of "quality time" together even before the time that this fic takes place... So you can see why Cagalli doesn't fail to mention him (mentally) every once in a while..._

_Also, yay for friendly, yet annoying, sometimes physical, but not too physical, fights._

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_Peace Talks_

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

The whole car ride was blanketed with a near impenetrable wall of silence and awkwardness mostly due to the fact that Cagalli herself felt a little embittered to have been reduced to sitting in the passenger seat of her own vehicle instead of behind the wheel where her rightful place should have been.

"_I am not letting a woman drive!"_

"_It's my car you dunderhead! Or have you forgotten whose name this three million and a half dollar baby is listed under?"_

"_I don't care! I am not dying an early death just because a woman was behind the wheel!"_

Stereotypes, oh how Cagalli hated them so… Their very existence mocked Cagalli in every way and it irked her to no end that someone would even think to acquaint her with hackneyed beliefs just because she was of the opposite gender… Or because she was blonde. Either way, whether he meant to insult her or not, Shinn learned just why it was that Admiral Athrun Zala was such a push-over when it came to Chief Representative Cagalli Yula Athha, she made sure to let it sink that it had nothing to do with being pussywhipped. The small goose egg on the back of Shinn's head would make it difficult for the red-eyed Coordinator to even sleep on it, much less let it grace a pillow…

She can't quite remember how it is that Shinn managed to grab hold of her car keys after that little exchange and it puzzled her even more as to how he actually got her to surrender the driver's seat knowing full well that her hands would not be the one touching that steering wheel for this drive. She just hopes for the best, that her baby can get through this without a scratch or a scrape and that not all Coordinators were car nuts like Athrun was because she swore that if Shinn so much as scratched an inch of the only car that was for her personal use…

Then she cannot and will not guarantee that the Asuka family bloodline wouldn't end with Shinn in Onogoro.

She looks to her left and sees the result of her work through Shinn being unable to lean against the headrest of the driver's seat. She smiles a smug smile and takes pride in the fact that she'd gotten even with him for the verbal slap that she'd receive from him the first time they ever met face to face…

"Yeah, yeah… Laugh all you want… If we crash because I got a concussion from being hit by you… Well, I'm sure that the tabloids'll be laughing with you."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I would." Shinn snorts and feigns a swerve just to emphasize his point.

Before Cagalli could even yell at him however, she notices the road, notices the signs that seemed all too familiar and the rows of quaint little houses that lined the sides…

"W-where are we going?" She's been here before, she knows it. Suddenly, she is reminded of the sweet scents of creamed pastries and the giddy, inculpable, childlike feeling that gripped at her chest and twinkled in her eyes as her father smiled contentedly behind his steaming cup of tea…

"To brunch. What, I'm the one who got hit in the head but you're the one who forgets?"

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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**_Written-Sin:_** _Review please._


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Update part dos of this week...

This chapter is kind of stupid... I feel that both Cagalli and Shinn are a little too OOC.

Anyway... Enjoy the cliffhanger.

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**_Peace Talks_**

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_~oo~_

_~o~_

She was quiet the whole…

Too quiet…

Even more so than during their meeting earlier that day.

She was just… Staring.

"…" And it was really starting to ruin the comfortable atmosphere around them. "Snap out of it, damn woman!"

She did, with a start. Cagalli snaps her head to him and looks at him with eyes wide, as if something akin to a ghost had been the one previously holding her attention.

Really, it just baffled him. Why the sudden change in demeanor when she was just about ready to strangle him in the car earlier?

Was it because of the location, something in the air perhaps, a dangerous gas leak, or was she on prescription medicine and forgot to take her hourly dose of whatever kind of corporate pill she needed to keep her going? That disoriented, idiotic look she had on her face right now tempted Shinn to suspect her of the latter, causing his brow to twitch and the last of his patience and sense to fly out the window… Or just out in general.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sure, the place was beautiful. A small house turned restaurant, walls eggshell white and tables and chairs intricately carved out of mahogany with skeletons made of finely polished steel laid outside under the pleasant weather, far out enough that there were fields of green everywhere as far as the property stretched, but not that long a drive from society that one would get lost and never find it. Few came here so it lacked the hustle and bustle of the ones in the city and the constricting feel of society, but there were enough people coming and going to give the place a homely feeling.

"Nothing!" So why did Cagalli Yula Athha look so disturbed?

"Yeah, and apparently a pig somewhere just grew wings and flew away to the PLANTs at mach four…" He resists the urge to sneer at her as she goes back to contemplating on whatever it is that may have bothered her. He just feels all the more insulted. "What not fancy enough for your tastes?"

"No! It's not that! It's just-!"

"Then what? Don't tell me you're feeling anthropophobic all of a sudden?"

"No."

"Paranoid that someone's going to assassinate you? The heck? I'm a soldier, as if I'd let that happen."

"You're making me feel exactly that, but no."

"Then what?"

"Thank you."

Shinn does not process that for a second, two, three. It takes a waiter to come up to them asking them about their day and their orders before he snaps out of his stupor. "Sir?"

"… What?"

_~oo~_

_~o~_

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_**Written-Sin:** Review please._


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